


Your Midnight Company

by ashryver_00



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Spencer Reid - Freeform, criminal minds - Freeform, diner au, spencer reid x reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26003317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashryver_00/pseuds/ashryver_00
Summary: A cute and fluffy diner AU where you work at a diner down the street from the BAU, after a rough case a certain doctor comes in for some midnight company.
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Reader, Spencer Reid/You
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fic! I hope you like it! It's a total self-insert don't judge lol

The graveyard shift at a diner in Quantico wasn’t quite as exciting as you had thought, and that’s saying something. The only people who came in were either mildly drunk college students looking for a place to pee or questionable looking strangers sitting at your tables for a few hours. It was a welcoming place in the day time. From what you’ve heard it’s quite a popular joint while the sun’s out, but unfortunately, you don’t get to see that side of this place. You work most nights from 11 pm to 5 am, it’s the only job that fits with your extensive hours spent studying and in classes so you jumped at the opportunity no matter how unnerving it may be.  
Tonight was a little different, but not by much. You were still singing behind the counter in your uncomfortable barstool reading a book, you still had your steaming cup of coffee you made to perfection sitting in front of you, and it was still raining outside. When was it not, October in Virginia gave you your fair share of rainfall in the city. But this night was different still because a young man, older than you but still younger than middle age, walked in through the painted glass door, ducking his head under his blazer to get out of the rain. He did not look up to you quite yet, as he was wiping the water off his shoulders and the book bag at his side. When he did you noticed the water droplets smeared on his glasses, the dampness of his hair showing the faint hint of some curls under the product, and the most beautiful man you’d ever seen.  
“Good evening,” he smiles awkwardly slightly nodding his head to you.  
“Hey, what can I get for you?” Your voice is calm and casual but your brain is not, just him looking at you with his innocent smile and Bambi eyes make your heart melt a little.  
“I’ll take a coffee if you don’t mind. Rough day at work” He sighs and sits down at the bar opposite to you. Setting his book bag in the seat next to him, you can see the water dripping off him and his belongings. You don’t say anything, just turn and start making the espresso as normal, but you can feel his eyes against the back of your head the whole time. If it were any other man you probably would have been a bit freaked out, but there was something about him that made you understand and almost trust him. Was this some Ted Bunny ruse? What’s his game here? You silently thought you as you pour the steaming liquid into one of your white mugs. When you turn back around he is holding your book, thumbing through the pages of Emma absentmindedly as he reads the back cover.  
“Here you go,” you say hesitantly, “Have you read it?”  
He looks up at you then back down to the book, “Oh, yes I had to read it for a class in college a few years back.” He smiled and set it down where it was, the bookmark not an inch out of place.  
“I can’t tell if I like it. I'm only a few chapters in but so far it might be my favorite Austen novel yet.” You softly smile thinking about the complex stories and beautiful relationships you’ve read by her. “Would you like any cream with that?”  
“I’ll take three scoops of sugar if you don’t mind.”  
“Three scoops! My god boy, you’ll be leaving here with diabetes.” He chuckles at that but still nudges his mug towards you as you reach for the sugar under the counter. “So what are you doing out this late?”  
He stirs his coffee around and takes a sip, seemingly melting into the flavor, “I work down the street,” He says after a pause from his drink, “Saw you guys were still open and thought I could use some coffee.”  
“You came to the right place, we never close around here.” You go sit back on your stool perch across from him but don’t pick up your book quite yet. “Where do you work?” There was so much around here you couldn’t even begin to guess, what with the retro diner sitting in the middle of a sea of high-rises and office buildings.  
“I work for the FBI, the BAU more specifically.”  
You’re taken aback by this. “Woah! That’s so cool, what do you do there?”  
He smiles a bit at your interest, “I’m a profiler, we figure out who the killer is before we find him.”  
“Well can I see some ID, agent?” You grin playfully and lean a bit over the counter. You weren’t normally this forward, especially with men, but there was something different about him. He pulled out his wallet and flipped open his ID sleeve showing you the photo of his from what looks like a few years ago. “Dr. Spencer Reid, huh?”  
“That's me,” He shrugs with a small smile, “and you are?”  
“Y/N Y/L/N, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” you reach out your hand over the counter which he takes. His grip is firm and his hands are huge, you can see the veins protruding from the toned muscles in his wrist and hand. This is the first time you stopped to admire him. He took off his blazer when he came in, revealing his button-up and sweater with the sleeves pushed up a bit. His damp hair still clung slightly to his face showing you his fantastic jawline and cheekbones. You were overtaken by how handsome he was, so distracted by it took you a minute to realize you had been holding his hand for just a moment too long. You quickly let go flashing him an awkward smile all of that previous confidence dwindling. He didn’t seem to mind, simply took his hand back and took another drink of his coffee.  
You cursed yourself for getting so caught up in this man you had just met. While you were internally crawling in a hole you didn’t even notice he was speaking to you.  
“I’m sorry?” You say, snapping out of whatever strange trance you were in.  
He laughs a bit, “I asked what you were studying, I’m guessing you go to one of the colleges around here based on your age and choice of reading material.” He nods to the book still face down on the counter.  
“I’m an English major over at the University of Virginia. I’m writing my thesis on Jane Austen’s works and her cultural influence in the modern era.” You tell him. He’s halfway through his coffee at this point but he’s hasn’t taken his eyes off yours the whole time you’ve been talking. It shook you up a bit, having someone look at you for the first time in as long as you can remember. Working the night shift at a diner the last thing people think of is you, they’re thinking about the stress of their day or their plans for the weekend. The last thing they want to consider is how the college student with her nose stuck in a book is doing. But he was different, he looked at you differently then the others, he looked with a certain fascination and care, it was refreshing.  
“An English major, huh? I like that, you’re an author?” He asks finishing off the last of his drink.  
“Ideally I suppose but I would also love to go into journalism, you know, get the nitty-gritty of people’s lives and help others understand there is more to the world than what they see. I just think people can be so self-involved nowadays, not that that's necessarily a bad thing, I just wish people could see from others point of view, I-" You cut yourself off realizing you’re rambling at this stranger. “Sorry! Yeah, the author is the goal.”  
“Nothing to be sorry about,” he grins at you, “I think that's a noble goal, a side of the story you don’t hear much.” His eyes had brightened ever so slightly, maybe it was the lighting but you hoped not. He looked like the kind of boy you’d write up in one of your short stories, his brown hair now mostly dry and fluffy made you want to run your hands through it. His large hands wrapped around his coffee mug make you feel warm. Your mind raced with the idea of those hands touching you. It wasn’t anything like that, he made you crave the innocent touches, the slight brush to the hand when you walk, or him tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. You couldn’t quite figure out what it was about him but you were entranced.  
It was insane how quickly time passed between the two of you. Before you knew it, you realized it had been 3 hours of you two discussing books and art. He recommended a few books to you, The Ship of Theseus catching your attention.  
“Would you mind writing that down for me?” you ask, handing him a pen and a napkin.  
“Of course. How much do I owe you?”  
“Your conversation is payment enough.”  
He smiles taking the pen from your hand, you feel the warmth of his skin against yours. He writes on the napkin and stands from his seat, grabbing his bag from the back of the chair. “It was lovely talking to you, Y/N. Thank you for turning my night around.” He says and turns around to the door. Looking back at you one last time before walking out into the heavy rain again.  
Your heart finally slows a bit as you watch him hurry down the street, covering his head with his blazer. After clearing his mug you reach for the napkin with the book on it, it says “Book of Theseus by Doug Dorst. Love, your midnight company. (xxx)xxx-xxxx.” A smile breaks out on his face as you carefully fold the napkin into the pocket of your apron.


	2. Strawberries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kinda a shorter chapter, sorry! I wrote it on my break at work funny enough lol. Hope you enjoy!

He was infatuated, to say the least. He ran down the street with his blazer over his head trying to protect himself from the rain, but all he could think of was you. you and your perfect smile, the way your eyes glistened when you spoke. and he couldn’t believe you’d been Working three doors down for who knows how long, how had he not noticed. His place was only a block or so away, fumbling with the key he unlocked his door and burst into the apartment. It was nice to be home, out of the rain at least. His apartment was clean, organized, he always made his bed and did his dishes. With everything going on in his mind he figured his home should be a calm place for him to relax without distraction.  
It was late, far later than he usually stayed up if he could help it. But there was not a single part of him that regretted the time you two spent talking. He stripped off his clothes and flopped into bed, the last thought in his racing mind was you.

——

“How’s it going, Handsome?” Garcia says as he walks down the hallways towards the bullpen.  
“I can’t complain,” he smiles he hasn’t stopped smiling since last night.  
“Oh something going on, spill!” she cries following close behind him. He blushes slightly but denies everything.  
“Nothing is going on, I promise. I’m just in a good mood that’s all.” he finally shakes her and gets to his desk. A pile of casework stares at him, it was going to be a busy day. A sorority house in North Carolina had been ransacked and two of the girls were now missing. He’s reading through the file when Hotch calls all of them into a briefing.

——

It was a late-night yet for him yet again but the thought of seeing you kept him going. At 12:30 when they were finally dismissed, the plane leaving for North Carolina University early the next morning, he practically jogged down the street to the diner, hoping you were working tonight.   
“Good evening, doc!” y/n is beaming from the other side of the counter. “Back for some of our famous coffee?” he can tell she’s messing with him but he doesn’t mind.  
“You know it,” Spencer says, sitting at the counter.  
“Actually I’m about to go on my lunch break,” you say, he noticed you had your phone and wallet in your hand. “But you’re welcome to join me if you’d like.”  
“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”  
“Of course, you’re good company.” You smile and he is floored, how can one person be this beautiful. You take a seat near the window the diner, Spencer following close behind.  
“This is my favorite seat in the place,” You say, “It shows you the skyline of the city and the people inside it.” You point at an apartment building across the street. The lights were on in many rooms and you could see the occasional person walk by or the silhouette of a family watching television on the couch. It felt like a massive invasion of privacy, but at the same time, it made him think about the perception of others. You were calmly staring out the window when a short man wearing a white t-shirt came up to you and dropped a stack of pancakes covered in strawberries in front of you. “Sorry, you mind if I eat?”  
“Of course not, those look amazing.” He says staring down the whipped cream on top, you reach over to the counter and grab him a fork. You take the first bite, they were amazing, and technically from the kid's menu but you paid no mind to that. The two of you sat and talked for a while taking turns scooping some strawberries into your mouth.   
Today Spencer spoke more, he told you about his friends at work, basically his family. “Morgan, who is probably my best friend, and I were working on this case the other night. I can’t tell you much about it but we had to stake out this house overnight. I swear to you no matter how tough that man looks like he is, the snap of a twig will send him ten feet in the air!” He laughs and drinks his coffee. You laugh along with him, he talks about his friends so highly, it’s really cute.  
“You’ll have to bring him in some time.” You say. He hadn’t considered that honestly he was shocked you had any interest in his life at all, but it sounded like you wanted to know more. This was new for him, Spencer was known to not let anyone too close, close enough to get hurt as he has in the past. But you were somehow different. You made him feel safe.  
“Well, we’re going out of town on work for, hopefully, only a few days but when we get back maybe I’ll bring them in for a late-night snack.” At that an arm goes off on your phone, it had been thirty minutes already? It felt like you two had just sat down.  
Clearing your table you say, “That’s it for my lunch. I appreciate the company but you better get home, sounds like you have a busy day tomorrow.”  
“You’re probably right, I’ll head out in a minute.” He grabs his bag from behind the chair and slings it over his shoulder.   
As he turns to leave you quickly say, “Do you think you’d be able to talk at all while you’re out of town? Like, could I still text you?” Your face had the slightest blush washing over it.  
“Of course, I look forward to it.” He grins and makes his way out into the darkness of the city once more.


	3. A Date it is

It had been three days and you’ve only heard from Spencer a few times, he texted you briefly the first night he got there but other than that it’s been short check-in texts for the most part. One day he was waiting for his boss to get back and he had a moment to talk. He told you it was a rough case but they think they’re getting it and how he should be back within the week. He also mentioned how he was excited to see you again which made your heart do cartwheels in your chest.

———-

S: ’guess who’s coming home! :)’  
‘you???”  
S: ‘wow how’d you get that so quick? Yep! We lift off in an hour.’  
‘how was the case?’  
S: ‘I can’t talk about it but it wasn’t an easy one, I’m just glad it’s over’  
‘aww, I'm sorry :/ I’m glad you’re coming home, unfortunately, I don’t work tmrw but I work Thursday so you should come in then!’  
S: ’what if instead… I take you out to dinner tomorrow?”  
You stopped in your tracks, like a date? Was this a date? Are you two dating?   
‘like a date?’ You pull the trigger and ask, terrified of his response, yeah he was cute and you did like him there was nothing to not like, you just didn’t want to look like an idiot and assume.  
S: ‘is that alright with you?’  
‘yes! That’s perfect with me! A date it is!’ you’re grinning from behind your phone, wow a date with Spencer Reid, sorry, Doctor Spencer Reid.  
S:’ I’ll pick you up at 7?’  
‘sounds great, I can’t wait.”

———

The next day drags on, every time you look at the clock it’s only been two minutes since the last time you looked. You have never sat through a longer one hour lecture in your life.   
Finally, it was 3 pm, your final lecture of the day. This one lasted until 4:30, you tried your best to read the slides your professor was putting up but every thought was about tonight. You had a whole outfit planned out, you knew exactly what makeup you would wear, the only problem is you have no idea where you’d be going, he could take you to McDonald's for all you know.   
The clock hits 4:30 while your professor is rambling about an essay due in a few weeks, you practically jump out of your seat when the professor dismisses the class. Okay, it would take you about 20 minutes to get home on the bus then you’d have like 2 hours to get ready. You’re planning out your time in your head so much you nearly miss your stop.   
You unlock your door and set your bag down, realizing you hadn’t heard much from Spencer today and he didn’t know where you lived, you’d been way too distracted with the thought of tonight and your classes.

‘hey cutie, did I give you my address?”

After sending the text along with your address you walked into your bedroom shucking off your clothes and setting out the dress you planned to wear tonight. The jumped in the shower washing everything you could think of, you were so nervous which is weird because you’ve spent a good amount of your time talking to him but somehow this was different. It was all real for the first time.  
You dry off and head back to your bedroom to slap on some makeup, you kept it elegant but simple, opting for a pair of subtle lashes and some tinted lip balm. You wanted the “you but better” look. You decided to go with loose curls in your hair, making it bouncy and smooth. Next, you slid on your dress, it was a dark green slip dress, nothing super fancy but still nice. The gold jewelry you paired with it stood out against the darkness of the dress. You were looking over yourself in the mirror when the doorbell rang, he was 3 minutes early.   
You rush down the hall with your flats in hand. You hoped you looked good as you threw open the door, trying your best to look like you hadn’t just run through your apartment.  
“Wow, you look amazing.” He smiled draping a black coat over his arm, he was wearing a white button-down with the top two buttons undone and a pair of nice black pants, you looked stunning.  
“I could say the same to you.” You were grinning ear to ear as you reached around the door to your side table where you grabbed your purse then you were out the door. He held his hand out to yours and walked you down your hallway and out into the cool night air. Thankfully it wasn’t raining tonight so the two of you walked a few blocks down to a nice Italian restaurant you've never eaten at, it had always looked too expensive for you, but he opened the door for you and the two of you walked right in.  
“Reservation for Dr. Reid.” He said to the woman at the front desk, she nodded and told him to follow her. She walked us through the tables until we got to the back where there was a table with a single candle on top. It was next to the window that showed off the lights of the city. It was beautiful.   
He pulled your chair out for you and sat down across from you. You were looking around the restaurant at all the hanging lights and paintings on the walls.  
“This place is so nice, Spencer you didn’t have to bring me here.”   
“Why would I not want to give you the best I could provide,” he smiled and reached across the table for your hands, “Besides, I pass this place on my way to work every day I’ve always dreamt of bringing the perfect girl here for the perfect night.”  
You blushed hard at this, “A hopeless romantic?”   
“You could say that.” He hadn’t stopped smiling since he picked you up. A waitress came by with two menus and water for both of you.   
He ordered a chicken alfredo and you got the mushroom ravioli, it was beyond delicious but also ridiculously expensive. I mean who would pay $27 for pasta? Apparently, Spencer would, he would buy even more, you two got a brownie with homemade ice-cream to share at the end of your date.   
Aside from the food you two talked, he talked a bit about his case, although not being able to provide too many details, apparently there was a serial killer in Boston that was preying on young girls, he said it like it was so standard. Almost like it was boring, you couldn’t imagine what it would take to shake him up. Before dessert, he pulled a brown paper wrapped package from his coat pocket and slid it across the table to you.  
“What’s this?” You ask.  
“It’s for you, I saw it in a bookshop in Boston and thought of you.” He smiled, “Go on, open it!”  
You tore at the wrapping uncovering a book. It was a gorgeous edition of The Ship of Theseus. You remembered talking about this the first day you two met. You put it in your Amazon wishlist of things to buy with your next paycheck but he already bought it for you.  
“Spencer, you didn’t have to! Thank you so much!” You flip the book over to look at all the detail of the cover.  
“I was hoping you hadn’t bought it for yourself already. I think you’ll like it.” He smiles, his eyes were bright and happy. It was a wonderful sight.

———

The check came but before the lady could come back with Spencer’s card he gets a call.  
“Sorry,” He says picking up the phone and starting to stand up. “This is Dr. Reid. I see. Okay, I’ll be there in ten.”  
“All good?” You ask as the woman comes back with the card.  
“Yeah I think so, I’m so sorry to ask this but I need to run to my office for a moment, would you mind coming with me? It’s just down the street, I’ll walk you home right after.” He looks at you apologetically, you guess this was not the perfect date night he had imagined for the two of you.  
“Oh, of course, I don’t mind at all. Is it okay that I’m there?” You ask getting up out of your seat and grabbing your purse.  
“Yeah, I’ll talk to Hotch it should be fine.” He takes your hand and you two walk out of the restaurant hand in hand. He wasn’t kidding when he said he passes this place on his way to work, he stopped at a building four doors down and handed you his coat. “Here, it’ll only be a second.”   
Then you stepped into the BAU for the first time.


	4. The BAU

This was not how he wanted this night to go when he got the call he knew his night was over. Unfortunately, he had to bring y/n with him, not that he didn’t want her to be with him, he just didn’t know what else to do, he wouldn’t have had time to bring her home and he wasn’t just going to throw her in a cab and send her away. So here she was, walking into the doors of the BAU.   
“She’s with me, can you grab her a pass?” He says to the woman sitting behind the front desk.  
“Can I see your ID please?” She asks, you pull out your wallet and hand over your driver’s license. He could tell you were nervous, he put his hand on the small of your back and gave you a soft smile trying to comfort you. The woman hands back your license and gives you a small badge that says ‘VISITOR’. He reaches for your hand and guides you to the elevator.   
“Again, I’m so sorry I didn’t think I would be called in tonight. You can sit at my desk and wait. I’ll be out as soon as I can, I promise.” The elevator dings and opens up into an office room, there were a few clustered of desks and people walking around holding files and talking to people.   
Morgan walks up to the two of you, “Hotch wants us in the conference room in 5- oh who is this?” He smiles and goes to shake your hand.  
“My name is y/n.” You reach out and shake his hand, you look up at Spencer for reassurance.  
“This is Agent Morgan, he’s one of my coworkers.” Spencer awkwardly smiled and lead you to his desk. His desk was a mess, covered in files he needed to read and books he had to reference. He was possibly more nervous than you were, he didn’t know what everyone was going to say, he would have to tell them he was out on a date with you, not that he was ashamed he just didn’t want to scare you off.  
“Are you okay?” You say, sitting down at his desk, he hadn’t been paying attention at all.   
“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you okay?” He asks, kneeling to be at eye level with you.  
“I’m perfect, just glad I get to spend some time with you.” You grab his hand and rub your thumb on his palm. He sighs and squeezes your hand gently.  
“Okay, I have to go, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He walks into the conference room, he hates to leave you like this but he knows he has to. Once he opens the door all eyes are on him.  
Prentiss was the first one to talk, “So… who’s the cutie?”   
He can feel himself blushing, “I was on a date when I got the call, I didn’t have time to take her home before I had to be here.”  
“Pretty boy’s on a date!” Morgan laughs from across the table.  
“A date?” JJ says, walking into the room.  
“Guys! It’s not that big of a deal! We went out to dinner and then you called me. So let’s just get this done with so I can get back to what I was doing.” Spencer rolls his eyes and looks out the window of the conference room, he had a good view of you sitting at his desk, you had taken the book he got you out of your bag and began reading it. You looked so pretty when you were concentrating. Just then Hotch walks into the room snapping him out of his trance.  
“Okay, we have 3 murdered girls in D.C. all dumped at the same time but the coroner’s report says they were killed days apart,” Hotch says, everyone stops messing around and goes into work mode.

——-

This office was nice, a young woman came by and got you some coffee while you were reading. You took the book Spencer had just gotten you out of your bag to pass the time. This wasn’t the first date you had imagined but you didn’t mind too much. He had to do what he had to do, saving people’s lives was far more important plus you had a book to get lost in. You could see him through the window in the room he went into. Everyone once and a while you saw him get up and write something on the board, you couldn’t read it but he looked so serious while he was talking, He glanced at you through the window as well, making eye contact and giving you an apologetic smile.

Soon enough he walked out of the room with 6 others.   
“We’ll leave at 7 am tomorrow,” A tall man in a suit says and looks at you questioningly. He turns to Spencer and quietly says something to him. Spencer seems to explain the situation to him and he nods and gives you a formal nod. You stand up when Spencer gets close to you.  
“How was it?”   
“Pretty intense, we have to leave to go to D.C. in the morning. Luckily we won't be too far out.” He smiles and grabs your hand. “Let’s get out of here.” You smile and nod, picking up your bag before heading back to the elevator. At the last second two other people get in, two young women with blonde hair, one wore glasses and an exciting outfit with spiked hair and the other was in a very professional looking suit with straight hair.  
“Hi! My name is Penelope!” The woman in the glasses beams at you.  
“Hello! I’m y/n.” You smile and shake her outstretched hand.  
“Y/n, what a pretty name! You can call me JJ.” A woman in the nice suit says. You can feel Spencer tense slightly next to you.  
“It’s nice to meet you guys, you work with Spencer?” You go to reach for his arm but decide against it, you didn’t want to seem to forward or embarrass him, so you settled for holding hand.  
“Yep, we’re the BAU,” Penelope does a small curtsey. Just then the elevator dings and the four of you step out.   
“I hope to see you again, y/n,” JJ says and she and Penelope part ways with are. Spencer and you walk out into the crisp night air once again, his meeting only took around 45 minutes which was better than either of you were expecting, too bad you had to say goodbye to him again for who knows how long.   
“All okay?” You squeeze his hand a little tighter and look up at him.  
“I’m good, I was just a bit nervous for you to meet them, I didn’t want them to scare you off, you know?” He said, he looked like he was shy about it.  
“Scare me? Oh no, they were super cool! You don’t have to worry about me, Spencer.” You comfort him. The two of you walk contently, hand in hand, down the late-night streets of Quantico on your way back to your apartment.


End file.
